Hollow sheet-metal structure.



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APPLIUATION TILED MAY 4, 1911. 1,079,], 1 '7, Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

Z SHEETS-SHEET l.

I L we who 3513A aHo'm wus Wvbnwwo A. J. ELLIS.

HOLLOW SHEET METAL STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1911. 1,079,] 17, Patented NOV. 18, 1913.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE};

nnrnnn ,1. ELLIS, or wooncurr-on-nunsou, NEW JERSEY, nssronon TO A. J. ELLIS, 11m, A CORPORATION or NEW Jansnv.

HOLLOW SHEET-MET AL srpncrunn;

Speciflcation of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 4, 1911. Serial Ko..62 5, 0 9 9.

To all whom it may concern:

:Be it known that I, ALFRED J. ELLIS, acitizen of the United States, residin at] \Voodclifi-on-Hudson, township of Narthz Bergen, county of Hudson, and State of: New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hollow Sheet-Metal- Structures, .of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. 1

This invention relates to hollow metal structures, and "has for its object the pro-T vision of improved means for uniting the: several parts employed in the construction. of, for example, doors of thischaraeter, such; means being characterized 'by extreme sim-I plicit-y of construction, compact form, and by the fact that it 'afi'ords great rigidity to. the assembled parts. The construction in question is such that the securing devices; may be made of substantially uniform size, in so fares the cross section thereof is con-q cerned, for various sizes .ofdoors, resultingl in a greatly decreased cost of construction. 4

A further object of my invention is the. provisionof a novel form of molding eharacterized by extreme .simplicity of construe: tion and adapted -to efficiently retain glass panels or the like in position in a door, such. molding cooperating with the other parts of. my improved door construction to the end; that an inexpensive, extremely simple and very rigid fireproof door is the result.

Another object of my invention is to pro-1 vide'a novel stiffener which is flanged in such a manner as to truly interlock with; other flanged elements of the structure.

Other features of my invention will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawin s which form a part hereofiand in which like referenee characters designate like parts through out the several views: Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved door showing the same in position in a frame of suitable construetion. {Fig 2 is a vertical section of my door taken on line 'II-Jl of F ig. 1. Fig. 3, is a transverse section taken on the line III-III of -Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on linedV IV of :Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a transverse section similar tothat shown in Fig. 3, but showing the molding slightly mcdifiedin .form to accommodate a panel of larger dimensions. Fig. .6 is a detail section .showingamodified form of stiffener.

Referring now to the said drawings, and more particular]. to Fig. 1, wherein the stiles have been esignated 1, the upper rail 2, the middle rail 3 and bottom rail 4, it will be observed that the door has substantially the. general outward appearance of doors of the usual construction; but upon inspection of Fig. ,3, 1t Wlll be seen that each stile is composed of a -bent sheet of metal 5, substantially -,U-shaped in cross section, the

Fig. 7 is a detail in perspect showing t construction of .a corner of :thed or.

separate and distinot from each other instead of bending a single plate into the U-shaped form employed in the construction of the stiles. This ,however is obviously merel a ,rnatter of detail. The ;feature of principal mportance in the rails, as in the stiles, is the peculiar arrangement of recessed 0r grooved flanges; the size and she, e f such flanges in both the rails and stiles being preferably identical, .so ,that but few rolls or presses need be employedin the manufacture of the parts of my door.

Considering now the parts of the com. pound .flanges in detail, the metal or other material of which the side of the stile or rail is composed, is preferably folded baekupon itself as at 6; but the laterally disposed web 7 formedby the so folded material is spaced from the bodyof the member to provide a rather deep interiorly' opening groove 8. The metal is then bent substantially normal to the surfaces of :the webs 7 .;to form the inwardly directed webs 9. Finally the edges of these inner webs are shown as being bent or folded backover the bodies thereof ,to form recessed or grooved, interiorly directed flanges, similar to those previously described but substantially normal thereto. The folded edges of these flanges have been designated 10 and the grooves so formed 11.

Considering now the stiles more particularly, I preferto closethe interior open sides thereof ;by stays .or stitfeners 2. These stitl'cners are preferably of sheet metahand their essential characteristic is their ability to form a true interlocking connection with other parts of the structure by means of flanges which are provided thereon. I prefer to form them as shown inFig. 4, for example, wherein the metal of the stifi'ener 1s folded over symmetrically with respect to itsmedian line as at 13, and each of the folded parts is again turned or bent as at 14 through substantially ninety degrees. Between each of these bends and the respective edges of the stifl'ening strip is a second ninety degree bend 15, so that webs 16 of the stiflenerare thereby disposed parallel to the body thereof. Finally each of the edge portions 17 of the stiffener may be again bent through a quarter turn to dispose them substantially normal to the webs 16. When properly bent these stifi'eners may be slidably interlocked with the stiles and rails, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the edge portions 17 entering the grooves 8 while the webs 16 and the flanges formed by the bends 13 embrace the respective interiorly directed grooved flanges of the rails and stiles. It is evident that the interlocking connection just described is so positive that if but a single rail plate be so united to a stiffener, the parts cannot be separated save by longitudinal displacement of one with respect to the other. There are certain advantages to be derived from omitting the edge portions or flanges 17, so that the stiffener has substantially the form illustrated in Fig. 6, in which figure it has been broadly designated 12. In the first place, when the stifiener is of this form, it is simpler and hence some what cheaper to make. The principal advantage, however, resides in the fact that when so constructed only its edges are in contact with the body of a stile or rail, which materially reduces the tendency for it to conduct heat from one side of a door, or the like, to the other, in case of fire. When the several parts of the door are assembled such a stiflener is. still held in interlocking engagement with the adjacent elements despite the fact that the flanges 17 have been omitted; since it is positioned between the sides of a stile or between a pair of rail plates, as the case maybe, and therefore cannot be displaced except in the direction of its length. Indeed, it cannot even be so displaced if it be positioned in a stile or in an interior rail, or interior portion of a rail, of the door owing to the fact that its ends are then covered by adjacent I parts against which said ends may abut. In

other words, by means of my novel interlocking construction rivets, screws, and the like, may be wholly eliminated from the structure and even welding may be reduced to a minimum, it. being merely desirable, if no rivets or bolts whatsoever are employed,

to spot weld the ends of the cover plates,

hereinafter referred to, and the corresponding stifleners, if used, to the stiles. Further, if the parts he made to fit sufficiently tightly together, no welding or auxiliary fastening means whatsoever need be used.

The form of stifi'ener shown in Figs. 3 and.

4.- has the undoubted advantage, however, of greater strength and will be used in many instances.

The grooves 11 above referred to extend practically the entire length of each' stile upon either side thereof and are adapted for 2 forms the flange or tongue above referred to, which is adapted to neatly fit into one 'of the grooves 11; the web 21 of the Z being offset from the face of the rail by an amount substantially equal to the distance from the inner face of the web 7 to the outer face of the stile; and the upper leg 22 of the Z, which is relatively short, is preferably of just sufiicient size to bring the face of the rail out flush with the outer face of the stile when the flange 20 is in position in its corresponding groove. The longitudinal edges of the plates 19 are crimped orfolded to form compound recessed flanges of the shape and dimensions described at length above; and as the same characters have been used throughout to designate the several elements of these locking parts, it will suiiice to say that my object in so forming the respective rails and stiles has been to provide homogeneous locking devices throughout the structure, which greatly simplifies the construction and reduces the cost of production.

The remaining parts of the door, which is the hollow structure exemplified herein, can

best be described while considering the man-' ner of assembling the same.

As shown in Fig. 2, the bottom of the bottom rail is preferably formed by inserting one of the st-ifl'eners 12 between the respective rail plates 19 so that the outer edges of .the flanges of this channel engage the channel grooves 8 of said plates. A cover plate 23 is then applied to the bottom face of the bottom rail to close the aperture between the compound flanges, the flanges snugly bearing against the inner walls of the lateral webs 7 of said plates. A stiffener 12 is disposed for engagement with the upper channel grooves '8 of the rail plates, so that the A. J. ELLIS.

HOLLOW SHEET METAL STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1911.

1,079,] 17, Patented NOV.18,1913.

-over; and the com ound flanges, hereinbefore referred to, 0 the stiles are cut away' sufficiently at their extremities, and the corresponding stifi'eners 12 which embrace said flanges are sufficiently shortened, as at 36, to permit of the assemblage of parts in the manner described.

It is advisable, in some cases, to weld the lines of jointure between the flanks or sides of the cover plates and the abutting flanges 35 of the stiles, thereby stiffening the upper and lower edges. of the door adjacent the corners thereof.

It will thus be seen that my door consists of but few parts; to the best of my knowledge ccnsiderably less in number than any metal door of like weight and strength heretofore constructed; and these parts are united together by a compound flange con; struction, the principal characteristic of which is its simplicity. The parts are so related as to adapt them to be readily welded or otherwise united together in the simplest possible manner and are further so constructed that if owing to expansion when the door is subjected to the'action of intense heat, as for example in a fire, even should there by-any chance occuran unequal exansion between the respective parts wherey the welded portions might be disrupted one from the other, the door would still hold firmly together and retain its fireproof character by reason of the peculiar interlocking construction employed throughout.v Finally owing to the fact that the interiorly directed flanges, which extend laterally from the bodies of the respective stiles and rails, are set back or inset into the stiles and rails from-the edges 6 thereof, while the flanks or sides of the projecting flanges are sub- .Stantially coincident with the sides of-th stiles and rails, and are thus wholly within the exposed overall width B ofsuch parts,

it becomes possible when desired, to employ panels of substantially the exact dimensions of the opening between the stiles and rails.

The width of the panel 27' in this case being, as shown in Fig. 5, equal to A, the distance between the stiles, and the height obviously being the corresponding distance between rails. In the'door therefore the assembled stiles and rails may be of specified standardwidth, 2 B-l-A, and the panels of specified standard dimensions. possible by reason of the insetting ofthe laterally projecting or outstanding rail andv molding engaging flanges, and I therefore regard such feature as of particular importance.

In using the term interlockingfianges This feature is, only I distinctly disclaim such constructions as have heretofore been commonly employed, in which the metal edge of a rail or stile is merely folded over upon itself and the similarly folded edge of a part in engagement 7 therewith is inserted into the 'grpove formed by such a fold; no co-acting flanges being provided whereby to hold the parts against displacement in a direction normal to the engaging flanges. Such freely displaceable parts do not truly interlock sincein so far as the flanges are concerned they are' free, except possibly for friction, rivets, bolts, or welded connections, to slip laterally apart. Such flanges may hence. be termed inter-engaging whereas those herein de scribed are not only inter-engaging, but are tllilly interlocking. I

aving described my invention, I claim:

1. In a'metal door, stiles and rails, said ,of substantially Z shaped in cross section.

2. In a metal door, metal boxes forming the 'st1 les and rails of said door, each of the stile-forming boxes having a pair of angul'arly disposed flanges at the inner edge 10g of each of the sides thereof, each of said flanges having a groove therein, the respec tive grooves in a pair of flanges opening in two different directions, flanged stifiening members-in said stiles, the respective flanges 195 of said members being adapted for interlocking engagement with grooves of said stile flanges which open in a common direc-'- tion, the rails of said door also having flanges at the ends thereof, said last men- 110.

tioned flanges being adapted for interlockingengagement with the grooves in the stile flanges which open in other directions than that last mentioned.

3. In a metal door, metal boxes forming the stiles and rails of said door, each of the stile-forming boxes having a pair of angularly disposed flanges at the inner edge of each of the sides thereof, one flange of each pair extending substantially in paral- 12o lelism with the sides of the stile and the other flange of each pair being disposed substantially perpendicular to the general plane of the door and extending into the body of the stile, said inwardly extending flanges being grooved, andthe rails having flanges at the ends thereof adapted to enter said grooves to interlock said stiles, and rails.

4. In a metal door, stileand rail forming sheet metal boxes adapted for interlocking engagement, one of said boxes opening outwardly toward an edge of the door, said box having a cover plate for the open side, said plate and box having interlocking flange and groove connections, the cover being slidably insertible into position, and an interlocking sheet metal stiffener for said cover plate.

stantially into parallelism with the general surface of the part, the folded over portion having a substantially ninety degree bend adjacent the folding line and the material between said bend and the edge of said part being further folded back upon itself to form a recessed flange, such flange extending out laterally from the body of the part, the extreme edge of the part being spaced from the last mentioned folded portion to form together with the recess in the flange aforesaid an L-shaped groove, and a cooperating part having an L-shaped flange adapted to enter said groove, and an interlocking sheet metal stiffener in engagement with some of said connections.

7. In a sheet metal structure, in combination, a sheet metal part having a ortion thereof adjacent its edge folded bft0 upon itself, the folded portion having a substantially ninety degree bend adjacent the folding line, and the material between said bend and the edge of the part being further folded back upon itself to form a recessed flange, such flange extending out laterally from the body of the part and stiffening the same, the extreme edge of the part being spaced from the last mentioned folded portion to form together with the recess in the flange aforesaid an L-shaped groove, a cooperating part having an L-shaped flange adapted to enter said groove, and a stiffening member having flanges adapted to enter between the walls of the first mentioned fold.

8. In a sheet metal structure, in combination, a sheet metal part having a portion thereof adjacent its edge folded back substantially into parallelism with the general surface of the part, the folded over portion having a substantially ninety degree bend adjacent the folding line and the material between said bend and the edge of said part being further folded back u on itself to form a recessed flange, such ange extending out laterally from the body of the part, the extreme edge of the part being spaced from the last mentioned folded portion to form together with the recess in the flange aforesaid an L-shaped groove, and a cooperating part adapted to enter said groove.

9. A metallic structure of the character described, having interconnected members, one of said members being formed with two slots running side by side, but their widths at right angles to each other, another of said members being provided with a flange which extends into one of said slots, and a stay member provided with a flange which extends into the other of said slots.

10. A metallic structure of the character described comprising members having oppositely disposed walls bent adjacent to their edges to form slots whose widths are at right angles to each other, members connected with said slotted members by means of a flange projecting into one of said slots, and a stay member between the walls of the slotted members provided with flanges which enter the other slots.

11. A metallic structure of the character described comprising a frame having side and end members with oppositely disposed walls having their interior edges bent to form two slots with their widths at right angles to each other, stay members between the walls of the frame members having flanges projecting into one of the slots in the frame members, and a panel member connected with the frame members by flanges projecting into the other slots.

In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

WALDO M. CHAIIN, James DAN'romo. 

